Call for Abstracts: Prototypes for Humanity - Submission Deadline 22 May 2026

Dear Colleagues, 

I am pleased to invite the submission of abstracts to the Prototypes for Humanity 2026 Short Papers Platform. 

Abstract Submission Deadline: 22nd May 2026
Invitations to Successful Authors: 8th July 2026
Conference Dates: 15th - 19th November, Dubai, UAE 

** Description **

The Short Papers Platform provides a forum for professors to share their research and engage in interdisciplinary dialogue, fostering global collaboration and knowledge exchange, with a focus on driving real-world impact through academic research.

For 2026, Prototypes for Humanity is delighted to announce the launch of a strategic partnership with the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), for the Short Papers Platform. This joint effort reinforces the programme’s commitment to advancing impactful innovation through collaboration between academia and industry, focusing on the key sectors and themes that reflect international research priorities and that are relevant to the city and to the fund. 

Themes 

• Wellbeing and Human Performance
• Infrastructures and Cities
• Autonomous Systems and Advanced Manufacturing
• Environment, Sustainability and Energy
• Mobility and Logistics
• Socio-Economic Empowerment, Digital Economies and Future Markets
• Open and Speculative

Awards

As part of the programme’s ongoing commitment to research translation, ICD will award a $50,000 prize to one of the short papers presented at the conference. The award recognises academic work with strong potential for practical application, identified through engagement with ICD industry experts, and will support the winning project’s next stage of development towards implementation.

Submissions

Full details can be found at: https://www.prototypesforhumanity.com/press-releases/stories/Call_For_Abstracts_2026

Apply here: https://form.jotform.com/260705028532451?source=https://www.jisc.ac.uk

Deadline for abstract submission: 22 May, 2026

We strongly encourage you to apply where your interests and research aligns with the programme’s thematic areas.

If you have any questions, please contact us at professors AT prototypesforhumanity.com

Sarah Ward
University Relations Manager
Prototypes for Humanity

E: sarah.ward AT prototypesforhumanity.com

My source: Email - https://www.bcs-sgai.org/

Just saying i

INDIVIDUAL

|

    INTERPERSONAL    :     SCIENCES               

HUMANISTIC --------------------------------------  MECHANISTIC      

SOCIOLOGY  :   POLITICAL 

|

GROUP

Imaginary	numbers
Social	care?

ERCIM News No. 133 Special theme: "Data Infrastructures and Management"

Dear ERCIM News reader,

ERCIM News No. 133 has just been published. This special theme of this issue highlights the advancements made in the field of data infrastructures and management through exploration of novel research and technologies.  

This special theme was coordinated by our guest editors Manolis Terrovitis (ATHENA RC) and Dominik Ślęzak (University of Warsaw).

Thank you for your interest in ERCIM News. Please forward this message to anyone who might be interested. We also appreciate you following us and talking about us on Twitter @ercim_news and other social media.

Includes:

p.11 The Data Portal of the European Plate Observing System – A New Tool for the Solid-earth Sciences in Europe
by Vasco Avramo (EPOS-ERIC), Daniele Bailo (EPOS-ERIC, INGV) and Rossana Paciello (EPOS-ERIC, INGV)

p.24 CyberSec4Europe - Securing and Preserving Privacy Sharing Health Data
by Raquel Cortés Carreras, Juan Carlos Pérez Baún and
Miryam Villegas Jimenez (Atos Spain S.A.)

p.44 Survival Skills in the Digital Era: Helping Teachers to Develop Digital Competences
by Angela Fessl and Katharina Maitz (TU Graz), Monica Divitini (NTNU)

Next issue:
No. 134,  July 2023
Special Theme: "Explainable AI". Submissions are welcome! See call for contributions.

Announcements in this issue:

---

Call for Proposals: Dagstuhl Seminars and Perspectives Workshops Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik is accepting proposals for scientific seminars/workshops in all areas of computer science.

---

ERCIM "Alain Bensoussan" Fellowship Programme - postdoctoral fellowships available at leading European research institutions.
Simple application procedure. Next application deadlines: 30 April and 30 September 2022

---

ERCIM News is published quarterly by ERCIM, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics. With the printed and online edition, ERCIM News reaches more than 10000 readers.
All issues published to date are available online. The previous four issues focuse on:

- Fighting Cybercrime

- Assistive Technologies

- Ethical Software Engineering

- Cognitive AI & Cobots

---

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About ERCIM

ERCIM - the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics - aims to foster collaborative work within the European research community and to increase co-operation with European industry. Leading European research institutes are members of ERCIM. ERCIM is the European host of W3C.

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*My source.

"Global Mechanism - Your analysis and ideas?" c/o COMMINIT.com

I have posted some items c/o The Communication Initiative Network previously, but that was quite a while ago. Having just contributed to an ongoing discussion I thought it might help me and readers new to COMMINIT to post some background and add to my comment over coming weeks. The topic begins on COMMINIT:

UNICEF, with Rafael Obregon (Chief, Communication for Development, UNICEF New York) leading and The Communication Initiative, through Warren Feek (Executive Director) are holding a series of consultations, to gather views, opinions and ideas on what kind of global mechanism could be helpful for supporting advancements in the scale, sustainability, relevance and influence of programmes, strategies and organisations that develop and implement initiatives rooted in communication and media development, social and behaviour change. 

Background
The global development tapestry has seen the growth of a series of such mechanisms seeking to advance particular fields of work. For example, WASH for All; the Global Partnership for Education and, the Global Partnership on Violence Against Children, amongst others.
As we have reviewed these mechanisms it is clear that there are a range of differing goals and roles including:

• Raising technical standards;

• Advocating value and impact;

• Engaging in policy debates and dialogue;

• Coordinating action;

• Accrediting data;

• Expanding funding levels; and,

• Acting as a legitimate global point of contact for policymakers, funders and other major global players in development.

What kind of mechanism - priority, strategy, structure?
The major question for the social and behaviour change, communication and media for development field of work is what kind of mechanism – focus and structure - could help to advance our field of work. Consequently, there will be 3 major themes to the consultation that we will be holding. From your perspective and experience:

1. What priority goals and themes would you propose as the focus of such a possible mechanism?
2. What strategic approach should such a possible mechanism take to work towards those goals?
3. How would you recommend that such a mechanism be structured and organised?

continued... 


There was a meeting last year in London but I could not attend. I was prompted to write following a brief comment by Lorenzo Vargas...

Communication... also as a right (and more in Hodges' model)

I have copied and will further develop my ramblings as follows...

Dear Lorenzo and All,

'Communication' needs to be considered as not just a com-plex concept (process, social, practice, research, purpose, policy, reality...) but a com-pound phenomena too.

I have raised the potential of Hodges' model previously and in your few lines Lorenzo you also highlight how this (open) model might help integrate and provide a generic foundation for the whole health care agenda, locally, globally and glocally - through technology and culture.

First I quite agree to 'communication' being a Right: definitely and even when claims of rights has been described as a 'rights-fest'. In some contexts communication is a privilege, when cultural and historical structures accord a speaker - the 'stage'. Communication as much an innate ability. So the work of Paul Watzlawick needs to taken into account. The primacy of communication is made explicit in the first of Watzlawick's axioms of communication: "One cannot not communicate." Stepping over several axioms, number five brings us to the health context: "Inter-human communication procedures are either symmetric or complementary." This communication dynamic is the pivotal point of entry for communication as a right. The politics of axiom 5 is why we focus so closely on advocacy, engagement, safeguarding, guardianship, best interests, translation services and other measures that might include others acting as a proxy. If these are legal so much the better, if recourse to law if needed is accessible and affordable for example. In health, gender and development contexts a mix (compound) of qualities, characteristics and outcomes must be taken into account:

• being heard (physically, linguistically, politically, educationally - literacy, culturally ...)
• and being able to hear (physically, politically, language, environment, educationally - literacy ...)

We must also include choosing not to communicate (verbally, non-verbally, vote) and such acts ?

I'm sure we can all add our own experiential, personal, and professional emphases on the above.

The link below (should... ) outline Hodges' model - a generic conceptual framework.

Hodges' model - Structure and Care Domains

What is 'spiritual' encompasses the whole model.

As a 'right' like human rights we can place this conceptually in the POLITICAL domain. The scope of 'communication' and its dimensions can then be reflected upon and made more explicit. 

There are a number of 'gifts' in your comment beyond the obvious one in C4D :-)

We are aware of the skills needed in the sciences and many clinical treatments in handling instruments. The history of science is full of them through to the fact of robots deftly and with mm accuracy (and less) assisting in surgery.

For communication to be a right, this should necessitate a series, or at least one 'policy instrument'. 

In Hodges' model the SCIENCES and POLITICAL domains are associated with what is usually considered MECHANISTIC (physical).

This is not merely word association, but a tool that imho can help this and related communities.

With communication as a right, Hodges' model can help stress the need for the many identified and debated literacies to be made a reality. Or if they are not realised, then those who control axiom 5 (and other key factors - social media?) can be held to account?

Just to close I am presenting Hodges' model in London on the 18 May - there is a link on the blog's sidebar.

Thank you for your comment Lorenzo.

I hope this helps your deliberations?

Kind regards,

Peter Jones

Jones, P. (1996). Do we need an overarching theory of health communication? Health Informatics Journal, 2,1,28-34.

Nurses as modellers and informaticians: surely not!

Nursing is still trying to escape and evade the sexual 'Carry On' stereotypes that have plagued the profession in the popular imagination. For the majority of people talk of nursing and models more readily conjures up visions of catwalks than an academic pursuit.

You can still see and hear the response of bright-eyed girls and boys (aged 9-10...) to the age-old question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The answer: "I want to be a nurse and help people get better!" Even though youngsters are more sophisticated these days (the reference to girls and boys is not just me being politically correct), they are still most likely primarily motivated by humanistic leanings as opposed to wanting to pursue the necessary studies in the sciences.

Despite efforts worldwide practicing nurses do not all see themselves as data modellers enthralled by IcT. IT isn't usually why they came to nursing, although many mature students may have started their career in the IT sector. Chapter 1 of Programming the Semantic Web highlights how a basic table is a model (p.6-7). So of course gifted with natural language we are all data modellers. Hodges model then is the ubiquitous high-level data model - a two-by-two table and a whole lot more.

An invitation to mine data, gather information and deliver nuggets of knowledge.

Ref:
Programming the Semantic Web: Build Flexible Applications with Graph Data
By Toby Segaran, Colin Evans, Jamie Taylor
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Released: July 2009

Sour grapes and 'holistic' academic publishing

Having been a student on several occasions, an independent scholar and online for the past decade (I was a late arrival) something is really getting on my pips.

When I see an Editorial entitled -

Theoretical Frameworks 

and Concept Development

in an established publication -

Journal of Holistic Nursing

That states - 

There is a commitment within holistic nursing to explore and refine terminology and frameworks that will enhance the care of patients and provide understanding about the healing process. To accomplish this directive, manuscripts will be published that provide an in-depth analysis of existing, alternatives, or extensions of concepts, frameworks, or theories associated with holism and holistic health and nursing. Holistic nursing involves a complex view of the individual, family, and environment that is constantly being challenged by new and emerging paradigms and information that furthers the ability to understand humans as multidimensional and pandimensional beings.

I do wish someone else would recognize the
holistic value inherent in Hodges' model.

That value is not there by default it has to be found, learned and earned, but there are few frameworks that can simultaneously encompass holistic nursing, healing, touch, global health, informatics disciplines, the green agenda and human ecology. ....

So come on just a whisper - who Dares...?

 

Ref:

Diane Wind Wardell, Editorial, Theoretical Frameworks and Concept Development, Journal of Holistic Nursing, American Holistic Nurses Association, Volume 27, Number 3, September 2009 158.

Additional links:

How many interfaces are there? 
http://hodges-model.blogspot.com/2007/04/hodges-model-how-many-interfaces-are.html

Hodges model: What is it? [2] It’s an interface...

http://hodges-model.blogspot.com/2007/01/hodges-model-what-is-it-2-its-interface.html

Lonely model seeks ...
http://hodges-model.blogspot.com/2007/12/lonely-model-seeks.html

What Hodges' model is not - prescriptive

Even though models of nursing (health and social care?) are not exactly flavour of the month at present, if they were then Hodges' model could avoid getting involved in the interminable debates that often surrounds this or that model. As per a previous post therapies, models and computing languages can have much in common with legions of supporters - champions who may have a great deal invested professionally and personally.

Hodges' model is neutral in this respect: it is not prescriptive. It does not dictate the particular approach (problem-based, solution focused, person-centred, family partnership, psychosocial, developmental, educational, recovery, self-care, citizen-centred...), but obviously wherever Hodges' model is used the values expected of the professional must follow. Hodges' model provides a very high level, generic arena with potential applications across home, all clinical, social care and pastoral settings, other work places, communities, businesses, governments, high schools, colleges, prisons and for the more adventurous the space station and beyond. This may suggest that Hodges' model is in some way 'above' other models, looking down as they fight it out in their disciplinary enclosures below; but this is far from it. All the tools we use must to subjected to debate, research and critique.

So wherever you are physically and wherever the (care) situation leads you cognitively (within and between one or more care domains) Hodges' model can be utilised. This freedom, this diversity of application does not come free. Allied with our values using Hodges' model requires work and effort. We can obtain an appreciation of the task and the work involved when we consider Hodges' model in terms of user interface design and progressive disclosure - to follow.

Original image source: http://www.medicinescomplete.com/mc/bnf/current/images/diamorphine_prescription.gif